Not perfect but Grady found a way to win

Published 8:17 pm, Saturday, October 6, 2012

Grady's Brandon Lucas gets past Sterling City's Devin Muniz, and the rest of the defense on his way to a touchdown Friday night at M.W. Tunnell Field in Lenorah. Tim Fischer\Reporter-Telegram

Grady's Brandon Lucas gets past Sterling City's Devin Muniz, and the rest of the defense on his way to a touchdown Friday night at M.W. Tunnell Field in Lenorah. Tim Fischer\Reporter-Telegram

Photo: Tim Fischer

Not perfect but Grady found a way to win

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Six-man games are always entertaining, and Friday’s 58-42 victory by Grady over Sterling City at Tunnell Field was no exception.

The matchup featured two 3-2 teams but Grady was riding a three-game winning streak, while Sterling City had beaten the Wildcats the previous two seasons when the Eagles were among the best in six-man’s Division II.

But Grady was able to exorcise its previous demons against the Eagles by making key plays on offense, scoring two touchdowns on special teams and, contrary to popular belief about six-man football, there were some defensive plays made when it mattered.

The Eagles were playing without star running back Cooper Hinderliter, who according to Grady coach Chris Kuykendall was battling some injuries and could have played if this was a district game. But even without Hinderliter, an obvious difference maker, Kuykendall believes that his Wildcats would have still had a very competitive game against the Eagles.

It wasn’t perfect for Grady as drops and some overthrows thwarted some drives and led to a shaky first half at times. But good teams find ways to win and that’s what Grady did on Friday night.

A key for the Wildcats came at the beginning of the third quarter as they scored on their first two possessions -- on a 9-yard run by E.J. Rodriguez and on a 26-yard TD pass from Rodriguez to Michael Jimenez -- to extend a 24-22 halftime lead into a 40-22 advantage.

Even when Sterling City answered to cut it to 40-30, the Wildcats had an answer with a 43-yard kickoff return for a TD by Ivan Sanjuan.

The Grady defense also forced a three-and-out and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs twice in the second half.

It was a confidence-builder for the Wildcats, who are still learning under first-year head coach Kuykendall. And the fact that they were able to overcome mistakes and find a way to win, only bodes well for the future.

Grady heads to Garden City on Friday in their last non-district game of the season.